mHouse

Watertown, Wisconsin

Architect: Vetter Denk Architects

The mHouse is the brainchild of a magazine publisher intent on changing the way houses are constructed and how their owners relate to them. Named after one of the company’s website, the mHouse serves as a built manifesto of innovative panel materials such as rice hull composites and thermally fused laminate – becoming a case study house for over 30 international material suppliers.

The design challenge was quite clear – how to use a series of new materials unproven in the US building trades to create a beautiful house that meets the unique needs of today’s family. The result is a building that is highly rational in its construction systems, while encouraging social gathering.

The mHouse serves as a direct counterpoint to the typical suburban builder home – creating unique outdoor spaces in place of the typical open lawn, a variety of different views in contrast to one major view, and expressing a confidence in the future over nostalgia for the past.

Through a series of layers and nodes, the landscape grounds the house and heightens the views from inside, using indigenous plantings applied in non-traditional ways, the landscape mirrors the house in rethinking the suburban home.

The mHouse strikes a balance between proven methods and innovative solutions, resulting in one version of what is possible with these materials and setting the stage for future iterations and new possibilities.